Editor’s note: This story was originally published prior to the NBA Draft and has been updated.
Dereck Lively II was the top recruit in the nation coming out of high school in 2022. A year later, he will hear his name called in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Basketball is dominated by big men like NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and NBA MVP Joel Embiid. Teams around the league need someone who can protect the paint. But how exactly does a team find someone who is capable of actually guarding someone like Jokic, Embiid or Anthony Davis?
The 19-year-old one-and-done prospect can answer those questions as an instantly impactful defensive-oriented big man. He is listed at 7-foot-1 and with a reported 7-foot-9 wingspan, which makes him the largest prospect in this class aside from Victor Wembanyama.
“I’m always somebody that you’re going to hear on the floor, no matter if that’s on offense or defense,” Lively told For The Win.
“I still have to be the kind of radio tower. Everybody sees me. Everybody can hear me. But I can see everything. I have to be able to navigate everybody on the court.”
The former McDonald’s All-American big man was named ACC All-Defensive and ACC-All Freshman after his one-and-done campaign for Duke. Now, he is a projected top-20 pick in our latest consensus mock draft.
Here are four important things you need to know about Lively.
1
Lively is a future NBA All-Defense candidate
Any team looking for help defending opposing big men has Lively as a primary target in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Lively is one of just six high-major freshmen with a defensive box plus-minus higher than 6.0 while also holding an offensive box plus-minus less than 0.0, per Bart Torvik. The other five are just Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Nerlens Noel.
How exactly was Lively able to join such an elite group of players?
“It’s a little bit about scouting,” Lively said. “Then it just comes down to no matter how hard someone hits you, you’re not going to back down. No matter how hard someone tries to elbow you in the chest or try to lower their shoulder into you, you ain’t going to back off. You’re going to meet them or you’re going to push back harder than they’re going to push you.”
Lively projects as one of the best rim protectors in this draft class, and he had five games in which he had five or more blocks. Among high-major freshmen on record who logged at least 45 percent of minutes for their teams, only four (Jackson, Davis, Noel and Mohamed Bamba) have ever had a higher block percentage.
“A lot of people have a misconception of blocking shots,” Lively explained. “It’s not about you getting in front of the ball and getting in front of the person who is driving so you can get in between them and the rim. It really comes down to you focusing on the basketball and focusing on where the ball is going to be so you can meet at the highest point.”
But it wasn’t just blocked shots when Lively thrived as a defender. Opponents were 14-for-38 (36.8 percent) when Lively was credited as the nearest defender in the restricted area, per Stats Perform. That ranked second-best among those with at least 30 attempts tracked.
Opponents scored 0.24 points per touch on drives when Lively was credited as the nearest defender, per Stats Perform, which was also the second-lowest among prospects with at least 25 drives tracked.
Overall, per CBB Analytics, opponents shot just 29.8 percent in the paint when Lively was even on the court. That ranked in the 99th percentile among all Division I men’s college basketball players.
“It’s a lot of levels to it that you have to figure out,” Lively explained. “It takes a lot of time and a lot of trial and error.”
2
Lively thrives when doing the little things
Lively believes that his motor, his intensity and his effort are his three best qualities on the court.
“There are a lot of people out there who don’t try to do the little things,” Lively said. “It just comes down to embracing the little things no matter if that is defense, offense or the details for the things outside of the court. Just being able to know that everything matters and you have to be accountable for everything.”
That manifests itself in several different ways. First and foremost, it showed up in his shot selection. Lively averaged 1.36 “ShotQuality” points per possession, which ranked in the 99th percentile among all Division I men’s college basketball players.
His offensive rebounding also helped his teammates, too. Duke scored 19.5 second-chance points per 100 possessions, which ranked seventh-best among high-major programs.
“If someone misses a three, I’m getting the offensive rebound and kicking it out and getting them another shot no matter if that is one, two or three rebounds,” Lively emphasized. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get a good shot and the next shot.”
It also involved setting screens for his teammates to help give them better looks, too.
“If you’re going to get me the ball, I’m going to make the right play,” said Lively. “No matter if that’s doing a DHO with somebody else to get them the open shot or setting a screen and popping so I can get an open 3-pointer or me diving to the rim or me setting a pick and roll.”
Lively set 0.21 ball screens per touch, per StatsPerform, which was the most among all projected first-round draft picks. The big man set 0.10 handoffs per touch and 0.16 off-ball screens per offensive chance, and both rates ranked as the second-most among projected first-rounders.
“I’m just trying to go out there and be the most coachable player and try to be the best teammate and be able to be the best player on the court,” Lively said. “No matter if that’s me diving out of bounds or diving on the floor to save a ball or making an extra pass or making an extra rebound or doing whatever it takes to win.”
3
Lively was one of the most improved players in college basketball
Despite coming in as the top high school recruit in the nation, Lively did not actually have the best start to his collegiate career. He averaged only 3.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game during his first 14 games at Duke, shooting just 59.5 percent from the field.
But then in his final 14 games leading up to the NCAA tournament, including his three appearances in the ACC tournament, he averaged 7.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 75.4 percent from the field.
During that span, per Bart Torvik, he had the highest ranking among all freshmen (even ahead of top prospect Brandon Miller) in the catch-all metric box plus-minus.
“I’m somebody who is going to chip away at the rock every single day, trying to get one percent better every day and try to make sure you’re sharpening something whether it’s dribble or shooting or finishing or your touch shot,” Lively said. “No matter what it is, you have to get a little bit better.”
4
Lively credits his mom for the majority of his success
Lively says his mom, Kathy Drysdale, is one of the main reasons why he has had so much success. Drysdale played college basketball at Penn State and recorded 1,295 points and 717 rebounds.
“I definitely have to say thank you to my mother for getting me to this point,” Lively said. “My mom has just always been somebody who is my number one fan but she’s also my number one critic.”
Drysdale will talk to Lively about the pass that he missed, the lob he didn’t catch, or his turnover. She is always looking to help him improve his game.
“She’s always trying to make sure that I take the next step forward and not take two steps back,” Lively said. “That’s why I love my mom, man.”
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